Ability Awards Website Nominated

The O2 Ability Awards website has been shortlisted for the Irish Web Award’s category “Most Accessible Website”.  This is a true honour and very exciting news.  During the redesign of the the Ability Awards website, all involved made accessibly a priority.  It is a delight to be recognised as we strive to meet the same best practice standards the O2 Ability Awards promote.

The O2 Ability Awards are a Kanchi initiative.  Applications are open now through November 6th, 2009.
Last year, Kanchi’s website was shortlisted for “Most Beautiful Website in Ireland” and won an Irish Web Award for “Most Accessible Website in Ireland”. The Irish Web Awards will take place October 10th, 2009 at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Dublin.  Good luck to all!

• Posted:25 Sep 2009 at 12:00 pm

O2 Ability Awards 2010 Launched Today

An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD today launched the campaign to encourage organisations to enter the O2 Ability Awards – business awards for best practice in the inclusion of people with disabilities as employees and customers. Created by the founder of disability organisation, Kanchi and visually impaired social entrepreneur, Caroline Casey, the O2 Ability Awards promote organisations that think and act differently in relation to people with disabilities.

Since 2005, over 100 businesses and organisations including Superquinn, McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland, Bank of Ireland, Mayo County Council, Kerry Local Authorities and Aura Sport & Leisure, have been selected as O2 Ability Award organisations.

The O2 Ability Awards are open to organisations of all structures and sizes from the public and private sectors as well as not-for-profit and voluntary organisations. The programme rewards organisations that have put disability policies into action, delivering real and tangible business benefits both internally and externally.

Organisations are encouraged to enter online at www.theabilityawards.com before 6 November 2009. On completion of applications, thirty organisations will be shortlisted and will receive a free on-site assessment audit which will be carried out by independent disability management consultants. Awards will be presented across six categories and there will be three overall winners: one each from the private and non-private sectors as well as an award for the Best Small Company. A televised series documenting a selection of organisations that participate in the O2 Ability Awards will be broadcast in May 2010. The O2 Ability Awards is supported by Telefónica O2 Ireland, FÁS, The Irish Times, Newstalk 106-108fm and RTÉ.

“Embracing diversity has always been at the heart of O2’s business and our involvement with the Ability Awards since its inception has enabled us to learn ways in which we can take this commitment a step further for the benefit of our employees, customers and society as a whole”
-Danuta Gray, CEO of Telefónica O2 Ireland

The success of the O2 Ability Awards in Ireland coupled with the ongoing support of Telefónica will see the Ability Awards launch in Spain during 2010, the first of several countries outside of Ireland where it is envisaged the Awards programme will be established.

• Posted:21 Sep 2009 at 09:00 am

The Specialists

SPECIALISTERNE, a company in Denmark, is mixing idealism and business; two elements they believe are essential in order to remain sustainable. The idea? Give people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) the opportunity to use and develop their special skills based on their own qualifications, strengths and ambitions. The business? Offer new special skills to the business community in niche areas which demand insight, precision and regularity.

This award winning company offers services such as testing, data registration and quality checking. SPECIALISTERNE has attracted some of the best talent by creating an environment where abilities are easily accessed. In turn, this talent has attracted business from some of Denmark’s leading companies, including Microsoft (PDF Doc).

Albert Einstein, Socrates, Charles Darwin, and Sir Isaac Newton were all known for their expertise and brilliance. All also probably had a mild form of ASD called Asperger’s Syndrome. Translating to “the specialists” in Danish, SPECIALISTERNE brings this specialised talent to markets across the world.

• Posted:15 Sep 2009 at 11:00 am

O2 Ability Awards Webiste Makeover

Have you visited the O2 Ability Awards website lately?  It has recently undergone a makeover.  Designed with the user in mind, the Ability Awards website aims to effectively present information about the Awards while providing practical examples of how previous Winners have benefited from achieving best practice in the inclusion of people with a disability as customers and employees.

Created by Kanchi, the O2 Ability Awards celebrate companies who think differently. In an uncertain world, thinking differently and adapting to change through innovation helps organisations to not only survive, but thrive.

Be sure not to miss the new Case Studies section.  This section features nine short videos.  Each showcase one of the three Overall and six Category Winners for 2007.  Leading forces in companies, their employees and customers talk about the importance of remaining inclusive and how it has greatly improved the way they do business. To give you a glimpse, watch why Mayo County Council is an Overall O2 Ability Award Winner in the Non-Private Sector.

Companies across all sectors, both large and small, are encouraged to APPLY for the 2010 O2 Ability Awards.  Application deadline is November 6th, 2009.

• Posted:08 Sep 2009 at 10:00 am